RIO DE JANEIRO — Two foreign tourists were held for hours and brutalized and one, a woman, was sexually assaulted aboard a public transport van they boarded in Rio de Janeiro's showcase Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said in a statement.

Two men aged 20 and 22 have been taken into custody and a third is being sought in connection with the incident, which saw the man and woman held for around six hours starting shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said.

The victims' nationalities have not been released, but local media reports have said the woman is American.